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Found an available now audio book to do my chores with and it‘s making all the things easier to do - laundry, vacuuming and throwing the 🌲 out into the back yard. My regular reading spot is back, my stack of buddy reads is set up and now I have to figure out what else to set up ( aka figure out where I stashed everything when Christmas got set up)

This book jumped out at me on the new novels table at the library, and I‘m so glad it did! It is funny, relatable, and gives hope.

“The snow and the salt stains and the sweating on the-subway of it all loses its festive tinge every January…”

There are so many emotions that are relatable, and yet so many more that aren‘t. Definitely found myself getting frustrated with the main character as they continually refused support or to make any real efforts in self-reflection for the majority of the book. As someone who is frequently doing self-assessments and trying to better oneself, I often found it difficult to connect with the main character‘s choices and actions.

I really, really liked this. Maggie went through a breakup and her world came crashing down.

Did she handle it the best way? No…Was she super annoying? Big YES

But she was also real. I appreciated this take, because a lot of times getting to the part where you are really good looks like this.

Audiobook was excellent!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one has lukewarm reviews, but 12% in and I‘m really liking it!

3✨I‘m not sure what first attracted me to this book, but it was a refreshing read. It had loads of humor as Maggie navigates a divorce and finding herself. She is a woman that feels deeply so crying and embarrassment happens often. I don‘t relate to this character at all. It could be a downer at times, but the humor and ending were great.

Really bad, actually

I've decided I really want the prize for beating the Challenge Crusher challenge with Book of the Month. That means I need to read 19 more BOTM books I got in 2023 and 2024 by the end of the year. Im starting with the oldest and the one with a very low rating on goodreads.

I know Maggie was going through a difficult time (recent separation) & I should be sympathetic to the impact that has on someone, but she was insufferable & selfish for the majority of this book. I struggled to connect & she was oblivious to how she affected people & had no self-awareness. Unfortunately, I think that was supposed to be be humorous, but that largely missed the mark for me. I do think it had strong writing (despite not enjoying it).

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This book is basically a year in the life of a slightly neurotic person after the dissolution of her long-term committed relationship. The year that follows is one of unraveling and reevaluating. I've never been divorced, but I think anyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship and/or had their heart broken could relate.

This book is a great read for anyone wanting a book that is both funny and touching... and if this sounds appealing, the best news is that there are recommendations throughout, from the author....
Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6615512416

I can describe the audiobook version of “Really Good, Actually“ as a reader's treat. The narrator really brought Maggie to life, stressing her internal monologue and adding depth and richness to the story. If you're an audiobook fan, this is a definite must for you.
👍 Great book for anyone wanting a book that is both funny and touching...
GoodReads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6615512416

Really just alright actually.
⭐⭐⭐

I did enjoy the in between chapter Google searches.

This book got a lot of mediocre reviews, but I loved it! I'm not sure if it's because I've been divorced & also recently lost my better half (who I met after my divorce); however, I found the main character's story painfully relatable in many ways though not in EVERY way. 😆 In addition to feeling relatable I found the story endearing, funny, sad, & hopeful.

I did listen to the audiobook & the narrator was marvelous, so maybe that swayed me too.

"...picked at an expensive, lacy wedgie." ?

Loving the chapters the main character shares her text exchanges and Google searches too. ?

Started a new audiobook. So far it's pretty humorous. The main character is a mess, but I can relate. 😝

Thanks to @britt_brooke for your review that convinced me to give this book a try. I'm so glad I did because even though the main character is an immature, self-involved, "garbage tornado" and an unreliable narrator, the messes she kept getting into and her cynical, dramatic, bleak observations about her life as a 20 something divorcee trying to get her ? together was absolutely hilarious ??

the blurbs say this book is funny. I didn‘t find it funny at all. But there is something about her voice and journey that I found compelling. Her marriage is over and she struggles at being single. I did find the self deprecating insights about dating, work, relationships, friendships, and family both totally depressing and insightful to the very real heartaches of a younger generation.
P.S. does that make me sound ridiculously old?! Probably.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Maggie is under 30, going through a divorce, and attempting to navigate life after. Online dating is a mess. Work is a mess. Friendships, you get it, a mess. Darkly humorous, and relatable to most women in their 30-40s regardless of marital status. A sort of mid-life coming of age. Maggie is frustrating, but so lovable, and funny. Not surprising this was clever given Heisey was a Schitt‘s Creek writer. Bonus: Julia Whalen narrates.

📬Ｂｏｏｋ░Ｍａｉｌ📖

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝, 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐲's debut novel, is heralded for being both hilarious & thought-provoking - the kind of book you pass on to your friends, telling them they 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 read it. For me, reading an occasional romcom can serve as a wonderful break from my routine. Thanks to the generous folks at Bibliolifestyle & William Morrow Books, I'm looking forward to reading it for a hange of pace.

This was my book club‘s last read of 2023 (and our 60th read overall as we close out our fifth year together) and I‘m so bummed that I hated it.

The premise had potential, and the fact that the author had written for Schitt‘s Creek had me so hopeful. But sadly, I found the protagonist unlikable at every turn. Even bits obviously intended to be found funny, just made me annoyed or frustrated.

I wouldn‘t say this was the worst book ever, but I didn‘t love it. I know the intention was for the main character to be insufferable, but it just got really cringey and annoying after awhile. I just couldn‘t stand the scenarios and the attitude she had. It was too much for me. But, that being said, I gave it a little bit higher of a rating because I did find parts of this relatable in some ways and that‘s what kept me going with this one.

A bit longer to finish towards the end. But it was a nice and light read

3.6/5 🌟

Not suited for serious-minded individuals seeking intricate plotlines or deeply developed (likeable) characters. However, it kept me entertained and provided moments of comedy amidst its portrayal of a millennial navigating a divorce.

Enjoyable. Only for certain times and people

None of this month‘s picks looked good for me so I chose 3 from previous months that I really want to read. 😀❤️📚#BOTM

This was hilarious and relatable for me as a divorced, childless woman. Maggie is a hot mess, and I loved her authenticity and self-absorption. It's funny because it's true. I did not act this way outwardly, but inside, I was pitching a fit.

I really didn‘t like this book because I really didn‘t like the main character. She was an incredibly selfish, self deprecating and needy to the point of exhaustion. Because of that, I really couldn‘t delve into the story. Nor feel sympathy for what she was going through. Some of the parts of the story were funny which is why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. But overall, not worth your time.
⭐️⭐️2/5

A marriage fizzles out

Hard to finish, longer to read than expected. Nothing of note happens, a well documented year for nothing to happen. Arguments and apologies, a fling, disastrous financial decisions. A marriage ends, focusing on problems the wife suffers with. Tears and laughs, but not laugh out loud type. No HEA, maybe someday. There‘s probably something in here we‘ve all done at some time, hopefully NOT all of them!

You‘re 19, meet a boy, marry the man he becomes and think you‘ll be together forever. You‘re 29 and the trajectory of your life no longer includes that man. That first year when you have to figure out who you are. It‘s crazy. You‘re crazy. No documentation of that year need exist - and for me, not even for fictional Maggie.

A fun read by a writer from Schitt's Creek. Maggie is getting a divorce after being married less than two years. Her world is ending, but she knows in the context of life, her problems are not as horrible as others. Nevertheless, daily life is painful for a long time. Found the writing quite humorous!

Maggie is getting a divorce at 28 and is not coping well. At all! Yes, getting divorced so young is devastating, but she really was the worst. Just one bad decision after another, and although there were some funny parts, I was mostly bored because she repeatedly mistreated the people closest to her and showed no redeeming qualities. Maggie was not an interesting character IMO!

#bookspinbingo
#awesomeapril
#pop23 - book about divorce

Not a lot of Litsy love for this one, but I found it an entertaining read (even with some especially cringy bits), but that only added to the fun IMO. We all have some kind of messiness in our lives, and sometimes we need to have a romp and face our unlikeable traits. (And I love this cover!)

I don't normally review dnfs. I just quietly press the bail button. I also don't usually dnf a book 3 pages in. That is what happened here. The voice and style frustrated the shit out of me. I could not go further. I don't know that I will pick it up again another day in another mood, but this book put me in a bad mood immediately.

I think I‘m an outlier, but I liked this one. The main character is immature, selfish and unsure of herself, but the parts where she showed that the most were, imo, the parts that readers are supposed to find humor in. I think it‘s in the same vein as My Year of Rest and Relaxation in that you need to be okay with reading about (and pretty much studying) characters you don‘t like. There were parts that lulled, but the humor outweighed them for me.

#StoryGraph: fiction contemporary emotional funny hopeful fast-paced rom-com-chick-lit
384 pages • first pub 2023

Reading this book made me feel like I was dropping in on a train wreck just to see what was going on. But, I say that in a good way because, even though I see that a lot of people did not enjoy this book, I thought it was hilarious with just the right amount of snark. “To each, his own.”

Unlikeable MC gets divorced young and acts like a complete arsehole to all her friends. One or two really funny passages.

Nope, this was really rather annoying, actually. Clearly I‘m not the target market for a book about a millennial who is getting divorced in her late 20s, but still…

I thought the first couple of chapters were OK and mildly amusing, but then it became apparent that the MC had no redeeming qualities whatsoever and was just obnoxious. Some authors can write such characters and you revel in their nastiness, but this wasn‘t one of those cases.

I see the reviews of this one aren‘t great, but I actually really enjoyed it. The dialogue seemed really natural??? She is very messy, and I liked the attempts at redemption.

I can like a character. Or love one. Or love to hate one. But I straight HATED Maggie, the MC of this novel. She used the end of her starter marriage at 29 as an excuse for some truly obnoxious behavior. Heisey, instead of reeling Maggie in and making her lovably kooky or apologetic, just had her continue being a user who takes everything good in her life for granted until the damn epilogue! 😫 Just no. I did not like this. First 1⭐️ of ‘23 👎🏻

.

This was at times just ridiculously funny, but I struggled a bit with how dark it got. A first person narrative from a narcissist‘s perspective is a tough read, honestly. Props to the author for not shying away from the reality of divorce and the toll it takes on a person and those closest to them though.

Thank you Edelweiss for the ARC.
2.5⭐
Started off strong but then became a slog of being in the mind of a pretty white woman who is utterly self absorbed, self- obsessed, whiny & delusional (not in a fun way. By page 250 I wanted to reach in and shake her. She has a strong support system that she admittedly abuses. She is awful.
The side characters are so rarely mentioned I couldn't remember them when they came back in.

First week of 2023 #weeklyforecast

Hoping to dive right in while trying to slow down a bit and really enjoy and ponder the things I read.

The last day of 2022 brings us the first major book preview for 2023. September 2023 brings us a new Mary Beard, a new Lauren Groff, a new Zadie Smith, _and_ a new Anne Enright, so I might as well go ahead and put in my PTO requests now.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/dec/31/2023-in-books-highlights-for-the-y...